US deputy assistant secretary Scott expected in Zim

Harare (New Ziana) –United States of America deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs, Robert Scott will be in Zimbabwe from Tuesday to Friday to discuss various issues of mutual interest between the two countries.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade spokesperson Livit Mugejo confirmed the visit, saying Scott was expected to meet several government Ministers.

“The meeting is expected to review the recent US Africa Leaders’ Summit which was held in Washington DC, and to which Zimbabwe was represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Hon Ambassador Shava,” he said.

“On the back of the inroads which the two countries have made in cooperating at both bilateral and multilateral levels, Zimbabwe is expected to apprise Ambassador Scott on the AFDB Structured Dialogue Programme and associate reform priorities which the government has implemented, especially in the last five years.”

The US imposed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA) in 2001 which prohibits companies from that country from conducting business with their local counterparts as it joined a bilateral dispute between Harare and London over a colonial legacy.

Since it came into office in 2018, the Second Republic has embarked on a mission to establish new relations and revive old ones, as it seeks to return the country to the family of nations from which it had been isolated for more than two decades.

The move has since started to bear fruits as the country has witnessed huge inflows of foreign direct investment in the various sectors which are set to enable the government to achieve its vision of a middle-income economy by 2030.

New Ziana